Oak Bay Mayor says a violent attack on a woman in her home Tuesday has hit the community hard

Oak Bay mayor Nils Jensen says a violent attack on a woman in her home Tuesday morning has hit the community hard.

The 45 year old woman surprised an intruder in her Esplanade home and was attacked with what police described as an "edged weapon". While there are reports it was a machete, investigators have not confirmed that. The victim underwent surgery to repair significant upper body injuries. Her condition is not known.

" It's a devastating crime. I know police are working very diligently throughout the region. Great cooperation throughout the region looking for the perpetrator. Hopefully that can be resolved sooner than later."

Investigators are back at the home in the 25-hundred block of Esplanade again today.

The attacker is described as a man in his 20's, heavy set. At the time he was wearing a brown jacket, dark pants, a baseball cap, and a light blue and white handkerchief around his neck:

Jensen calls it an unspeakable, terrifying crime, but adds it's not a common kind of occurrence in Oak Bay:

" This is an extremely rare incident. In fact I think one of the detectives from Oak Bay Police Department in his 20 year career had never seen anything along these lines of a break in of this nature. It just appears on the face of it to be a relatively random. So, it's extremely rare. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned for our own safety and be vigilant."

Jensen says he and others in the community are concerned about the victim and her family, and their hopes and prayers are with them.